It has been a long and arduous journey that is far from over in our nation since the outbreak of COVID-19. As an RT, you played a huge role in caring for and managing afflicted patients in our nation’s hospitals and outpatient locations. We understand we’ve lost colleagues this year to COVID-19, as a direct result of their work with patients.
At the end of September, the CDC reported 100,481 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among health care workers, of which 1,000+ died as a result of caring for patients with COVID-19. We know for certain that there are respiratory therapists in those numbers. Even one is heartbreaking, but as of today we are aware of 21 respiratory therapists who died of COVID-19 in the line of service.
Our communities talk about those RTs being heroes, and they’re right. We will not forget about these RTs’ sacrifice as they provided comfort and care to the dying.
To honor their sacrifice, the AARC Board of Directors has authorized monies to be made available to the surviving families of licensed respiratory therapists who died while caring for patients with COVID-19. Their families will receive $500. The American Respiratory Care Foundation will also donate two commemorative blocks in the AARC Virtual Museum, one for the RT’s family and one for the RT’s employer.
Email newsroom@aarc.org with questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you.
